Within the project LOBSTER, a system for analysing the escaping behaviour of crowds of people in crisis situations in public buildings/constructions has been developed. For the localisation and the analysis of the activities of the escaping groups of people, different positioning technologies of common smart phones have been used. The determined positions are transmitted to a LBS (Location Based Service) centre in case of distress. In the centre these data have been used in combination with building layouts and mathematical filter technologies to analyse and predict the escape behaviour. These analyses are carried out totally anonymous and thus, no private data have been used that would violate data privacy directives.

The analyses support the first responders in establishing a significantly improved coordination and resource scheduling of the rescue teams. The rescue teams themselves are also equipped with a localisation system and also transmit their positions to the LBS centre. In combination with the position data of the fugitives, it is now possible to detect the escape ways and thus, to coordinate the rescue teams in a best possible manner.

The main advantage of the system is that techniques are used for the analysis of escaping crowds of people, which are already supported by standard commercial telecommunications equipment. The rescue teams however are equipped with an autonomous system which provides positioning independently from the infrastructure.

The LOBSTER services have been tested and validated by various escape sequences. Besides a post-test evaluation of the LOBSTER services in a team briefing, a standardised interview of the first responder teams has been carried out. For every single escape sequence, the performance as well as the mental, physical, and temporal stress of every first responder and of the rescue team have been evaluated and validated.

Project leader
DI Klaus Aichhorn
TeleConsult Austria GmbH

Project partner
Graz University of Technology – Institut für Navigation (INAS)
Graz University of Technology – Institut für Bauinformatik (BAUINF)
Graz Institute of Technology – Institut für Signalverarbeitung und Sprachkommunikation (SPSC)Berufsfeuerwehr Graz (BFG)
Österreichisches Rotes Kreuz (ÖRK)
Landespolizeikommando Steiermark (POL)

Contact
DI Klaus Aichhorn
TeleConsult Austria GmbH
Rettenbacher Straße 22
8044 Graz
Tel.: 0316-890971-12
E-Mail: klaus.aichhorn@tca.at